Actor Leslie Nielsen Dead

When I first read of Leslie Nielsen's death on the Huffington Post last night, I was intrigued. It seems the star of such parodies as "Airplane!" and "The Naked Gun" series was once a dramatic actor. It's hard to believe that a man who fell on the Queen of England, knocked Barbara Bush off a balcony, and politely asked not to be called Shirley could look or say anything remotely serious. But it turns out that he starred in the 1956 science fiction film  "Forbidden Planet" and in many serious television shows. Even more surprising is what he did before acting. Nielsen was born and raised in Canada and his father was a Canadian Monty. After graduating high school he joined the Royal Canadian Air Force. I find it very hard to believe that a man could serve for the Air Force and eventually become a famous actor, always associated with absurd and stupid humor. Another irony in Nielsen's life is that he starred in the first disaster movie "The Poseidon Adventure" and then was later cast in the first film to parody disaster movies, "Airplane". I can't tell if I happy or disappointed that Nielsen left dramatic acting for absurd humor. I really enjoyed "Airplane" and "The Naked Gun", but they started a new genre of movie that would lead to crap that is "Scary Movie" and "Meet the Spartans." Either way, Nielsen's career is a great and prolific one, and I will miss the movies that he can't continue to make. -Alex

The full article can be found here.